Refugees Are NOT the Threat We Need Fear

   As many of you already know, Doreen and I have had decades of experience working with refugees, including people from Iraq and Syria. People in the US and elsewhere are understandably more concerned with security after the ISIS attacks last week. In our balancing concern for security with our concern for compassion, there are at least two things you need to know, particularly in regards to refugees.
    First, a terrorist from another country who wanted to do harm to the US would most likely enter our country with a tourist or student visa. This is the route that the 9/11 terrorists used. To get one, you just visit a US embassy for a ten minute interview. The visa takes about two weeks and is good for multiple entries for six years. If the terrorist is a national citizen, from, say, France or Belgium, or any other western European nation, the terrorist would not need a visa, but only a passport, much like it takes US citizens to visit Europe.
    Second, if a terrorist wanted to enter the US as a refugee, the daunting task of getting all the clearances would take about two years. Here are two sites that describe the current process, the second site goes into more detail. http://www.nytimes.com/…/why-it-takes-two-years-for-syrian-…
(The second site:) https://www.americanprogress.org/…/infographic-the-screen…/…
    When our government leaders target refugees as threats to our security, they are missing the point of protecting our safety, and they are attacking some of the most vulnerable people in the world. As followers of Jesus, we can call for compassion and justice without sacrificing any security on this issue. We have already sponsored refugees from Iraq and Syria. I hope we can do it again, and I would welcome them into our home.

Can People of Different Faiths Worship Together?

   I was very happy to be able to go to the Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration last Sunday.  I have been a part of the planning process for several months, and since it was at Trinity, I certainly wanted to welcome all of our guests.  Also, it was a rare opportunity to get out, since I am still recovering from the surgery of October 30.  Since I did not have to stand much, or lead in any difficult way, I thought it would be good for me, and it was.
   I also hope it was good for all of the people who gathered, and I believe it was.  Imagine Christians, Jews, Muslims, Unitarians, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Native Americans, and others all assembling in one room to give thanks in various ways to the God who has created us.  Was this a worship service?  No, we called it a "celebration" or a "gathering."  In the light of the attacks from ISIS in Paris, Beirut, Baghdad, and on the Russian plane, it seems more important than ever for people of faith to gather for mutual understanding and friendship.  To say that we all worship the same way would be a very long stretch, so we chose not to raise that question.  Yes, there are major differences among our various faith traditions, but there are also enough common principles that can draw us together, especially in times of crisis.
   One of the best parts of the event was the food; not just because we all need to eat, but because we had the leisure to eat with one another and engage in conversation.  What a wonderfully diverse community we have in our area!  Getting to know one another so that we can share our joys and sorrows is the first step in bringing more peace to our troubled world.
   Even as we are opening our doors and hearts to one another, there are moves in our nation to limit the welcome to Syrian refugees.  This is extremely myopic.  At least one of the terrorists was a French National; shall we ban all French Nationals from visiting our country?  One of the suspects is a Belgian National: are all Belgians now suspect?  The shooters carried guns: try banning the carrying of guns in the USA and see how far that goes.  So why target refugees from Syria?
   I am proud that we could host this Interfaith Gathering at Trinity, and I am proud of how we welcome refugees, including those from Syria.  (Remember the Osman family.)  We worship the Prince of Peace, and in His name we love our neighbors as ourselves.

Missing Church on Sunday

     I'm recovering nicely at home now.  I don't get out much, except to walk up and down the street for 20 minutes at a time.  Except for the trip to the hospital for the post-op review, I have only been out to someone else's house for a Spanish discussion on Monday morning.  Someone from the group drove me from home and back, just under two hours for the whole event.  It was nice to be in discussion with friends again.
     The hardest thing to miss so far has been church on Sunday.  I prayed for people during the time of worship, but not being there with everyone just did not feel quite right.  At least I knew I would not have to stand for a long period of time, which is much more tiring than walking, I find.  What struck me the most about the time I spent home on Sunday morning is that the morning went by fast; much faster than it seems when we are in worship together.  There is so much to see and hear at worship.  There are so many people, and so many conversations.  It feels like the most exhilarating part of my entire week.  It is also the time that requires the most energy, which I have now in short supply.  That's why I'm not trying to lead worship again, yet. 
     So once again, I am thankful for Karen Goltz and Tom Barrington, who are filling in for me on Sundays.  The Interfaith Thanksgiving Gathering will be at Trinity on Sunday afternoon, and I hope to be there.  I've been a part of the planning for this for a long time, and I will have very little to do, so I think I can make it.  I just will try not to stand for conversations very long.  I just don't want to miss it.  

Recovery at the Hospital

     The surgery at the hospital went very well.  The team removed three cysts instead of just one, and I came home on Sunday afternoon, as planned.  I spent about 25 hours in the recovery room, which by Sunday morning, was very sparsely populated.  I had a lot of time to think and pray, but I don't know how coherent I was at either of those activities, although God has already taken care of the prayer part in knowing before I do what I am praying.
     The coherence of thought, or lack thereof, has been an interesting experience.  With so little to occupy my mind, I played with the breathing part of the monitor.  I could make the squiggly white line do things by just altering my breathing.  I was able to get the breathing rate up to 47 with short breaths, and down to 6 with long slow breaths.  The latter set off some sort of little alarm, so I decided to stop that fun.
     The most interesting things happening were visits from the staff, from my family, and from Karen Goltz who paid me a pastoral visit.  In all these times, I seemed to me to be rational.  However, Doreen told me I had been uncharacteristically chatty.  One nurse reminded me I had met her in the pre-op room, but I needed prompting to recall our pleasant conversation.  There were times when, of course, I did not remember things, but this time, by concentrating, I was able to discover some things that I remembered knowing before I forgot them.
     This all has seemed interesting to me because I am aware of how amazingly frail and vulnerable I am during this whole procedure.  It's not very difficult for me to surrender control to professionals and to God during all of this, but it is a bit unnerving to be losing a bit of my mind, a tad of my personality, and a lot of my personal space.  When an "event" is putting on a jonny, or simply standing up by myself, then I know how far from "normal" I have strayed.
     Now I would like to draw a profound conclusion from all of this, but I don't have one.  Even if I did, I'm not sure if I am just rambling, or if I have opened up a new door to self-understanding.  So for today, I just leave all this as a group of observations.  One thing I do know, however, is how profoundly thankful I am for all of the people taking care of me during this vulnerable time.  If you are reading this, you are probably among them, and so I say "Thank you!"